You are just as much grown up as Carrie Poole--and _she's_ engaged.
And so is Elizabeth Forbes. And Annie Dudley will be married before
Christmas. Oh, Ruthie! did you ever think of being married?"

"For goodness' sake, child!" ejaculated Ruth, hiding her face quickly
from her pretty sister, "where is your sense?"

"My cents are where my dollars are," laughed Agnes. "I am talking just
as good sense as you ever heard, Ruth Kenway. Of course, some day you
will marry."

"What for?" snapped her sister, inclined to be a little piqued because
of Agnes' insistence.

"To please yourself, I hope," Agnes said slyly. "But surely to please
some man, my dear."

"I don't know any man I'd want to please--"

"Hush!" warned Agnes, who was looking out of the open window, and she
said it with mischief dancing in her eyes. "There's Luke Shepard."

"What do you mean?" demanded Ruth, flaring up in haste, not at all like
her usual placid self.

"Why--on the lawn. Luke is on the lawn, I was going to say," declared
Agnes, making innocent eyes again. "Why so touchy?"

But her sister did not answer her. To tell the truth she was being
worried a good deal by the family's interest in a matter which she
considered should interest herself alone--and one other.

Of course she had gone out with boys before, had been brought home from
parties, had been escorted from evening meetings. Boys had carried her
books home from school, and invited her to entertainments, and all that.
But Ruth had always been so busy--there were such a multitude of things
she was interested in--that never a sentimental thought had entered her
head about any of these young swains.

If any of them had been inclined to have what the slangy Agnes called a
"crush" on Ruth, they had quickly discovered that she had no use for
that sort of thing. She made friends of boys as she made friends of
girls--and that was all. And, really, she had never cared greatly to go
out much or be with boys. She only had endured Neale about the house--or
so she believed--because he was useful and really was a remarkably
domestic boy.

Ruth's mental attitude toward men was rapidly changing. She had never in
her life before thought so much about boys, or young men, as she had
during this week that Luke Shepard remained at the house with his
sister. He seemed quite unlike any other person that Ruth had ever known
before.

They were much together. Not, seemingly, by any plan on either side. Bu